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In what could be possible DeAndre Yedlin news, Kyle Walker has undergone some kind of abdominal surgery which, knowing Spurs, means he's going to die. I'm starting to think Yedlin could be coming to an NBC channel near you in January.

EU is talking about hitting Putin where it hurts, the 2018 World Cup. EU talks a lot though, and threatening noises is one of Europe's favorite weapons.

I'm pretty sure Blatter will just wave away the EU contemptuously with his hand while hitting up Putin for a few more bribes.

Arsenal, from all the sources I've read, came into this late. When United first made Welbeck available Spurs were the clear favorites for him but didn't seem all that keen as Pochettino really wants to bring in Rodriguez. This is why Spurs only wanted to do a loan deal and a cut-price one at that. Pochettino also scouted Welbeck in person against MK Dons but I like to think he wouldn't have made a judgment on one game, no matter how hilarious.

Fair enough. I'm irrationally excited about Welbeck joining Arsenal; he's done much better up front than on the wing, and will finally get a solid run there just as he should be coming in to his prime. "Another Sturridge" (in terms of marginalized English forward putting it together at a new club) is fanboy wishcasting but... we'll see!

Yeah, but most of the sponsors have already locked themselves in through 2022 (because they don't care how many people die so #### all of them) and if the EU were to boycott what legal reason would FIFA have to strip Russia of the Cup? I mean, it would be a hollow exercise to go through with it but I doubt Putin is going to say, "Well, the competition is more important than staging an event for my own personal glory so, yeah, go ahead and move this to England or America. We're cool." I think FIFA are properly screwed, no? I won't touch the stickiness of the UK and America having troops on the ground in a couple of countries, too. The whole thing is an unbelievable mess. But hey, at least FIFA has pushed Qatar into the 21st century on workers rights!

More importantly, I was talking to my account rep yesterday and it turns out her nephew is on the u16 team for none other than Tottenham Hotspur FC! Evidently Chelsea, Man U and Arsenal are trying to poach him from the academy and the family is going to decide whether he'll stay with Spurs or move on in the next week or so. She tells me Spurs' training center is the best in Europe, though, and he'll most likely stay especially as much of her family are Spurs supporters. I made her draw drop when I asked her if he was on the team that just won an u16 tournament in South Korea. I'm probably one of 3 Americans who know that! The punchline to all of this is that she's a Gooner herself.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter insists Russia's status as 2018 World Cup hosts is not under discussion as leading football figures attend a summit in Austria this week.

The ongoing crisis in the Ukraine has already led to European Union sanctions against Russian officials and Russia's financial and arms industry, and EU nations are also considering sporting sanctions, although it appears there are no current plans to target the World Cup.

...

However, the FIFA president told the German newswire dpa that they were "not casting doubts on the Russia World Cup."

I dislike Hodgson so much, especially after the fiasco where he challenged Sturridge to play with an injury last year. Thanks for the kind words Keith. I had been hoping to add Valdes but it looks like that may drag out a bit.

Subjective grades for the transfer window based on needs, objectives, and available resources.

Arsenal:

B -

Fourth

Notable Ins: Sanchez, Debuchy, Welbeck, Chambers, Ospina

Notable Outs: Vermaelen

Perhaps the most Arsenal window ever until they signed Welbeck. In their own way, I think Arsenal would be among the most frustrating clubs to support. They are always good and play attractive soccer, but I would think the stubbornness would wear on you after a while. For the second summer in a row Arsenal brought in an elite player. Sanchez is very good and I think he will adapt better than Ozil did. Debuchy is a nice player, and Chambers is a nice utility man. I like Welbeck better than most, and it was essential that they bring in another striker even before the Giroud injury. Vermaelen is not a very good player and is often hurt, getting something for him was good. The reason I didn’t like the window better for Arsenal is that they continue to insist on fighting with one hand behind their back. I do not understand why Wenger will not bring in a better caliber water carrying mid. Flamini actually helped the club quite a bit, but he is not up to the standard of player Arsenal should be fielding in that role. Arteta is old and fragile. I also don’t like that they left themselves thin at the back again. Chambers may well be the primary backup at three positions. That’s not good. The sturdier teams are going to crush Arsenal. With better depth at the back and an elite midfielder I think they could have challenged for the title, but as it is there are going to be periods where they field subpar lineups due to injury and suspension and drop points.

Aston Villa:

B +

Mid table

Notable Ins: Sanchez, Cissoko, Cleverly, Senderos, Richardson

Notable Outs: None

I was a little disappointed with Aston Villa last year. I find it interesting that they elected to bring in some veterans. I think it was probably a good idea. Cissoko got made fun of by a lot of LFC fans but he is a perfectly cromulent PL fullback. I think Cleverly desperately needed to get away from Man U. He had become a punch line and that is never healthy, especially for a young player. Sanchez, Senderos, and Richardson add some veteran toughness to what often seemed a doughy side. I think Villa added some steel to their team. If they can get Benteke back and firing I think they are a solid team that can play with most teams on their day.

Burnley:

D

Making the drop

Notable Ins: Boyd, Kightly, Jutkiewicz, Ward, Sordell

Notable Outs: None

Going the QPR or Cardiff route perhaps isn’t the wisest course of action, but at least those particular clubs tried to compete when promoted. For the most part I think Burnley has a quadruple A team and they are thin even for a newly promoted club. As the season goes on I think they are going to get worn down. There isn’t enough quality on the team and I don’t think the club did enough to try to change that during the transfer window.

Chelsea:

A +

Champions

Notable Ins: Costa, Fabregas, Luis, Remy, Drogba, Courtois

Notable Outs: Luiz, Lampard, Eto’o, Lukaku, Ba

I picked Chelsea to win the title last season, but I should have remembered the pattern Mourinho has shown throughout his career regarding his second season. I had expected Mourinho to reshape the squad quicker, but he has certainly done that in a big way the last two windows. I enjoy Chelsea’s method of getting around FFP. I much prefer the buy, stash, and sell model (De Bruyne, etc) to the dodgy sponsorship model. Luiz was never a Mourinho player, Lampard was old, Eto’o was ok but old, they were never going to play Lukaku for some reason, and Ba was only ok. Costa is perfect for them. I cannot imagine a more perfect forward for Mourinho and Chelsea is the perfect club for Costa. Remy is nice depth. Fabregas looks like his poor form was more due to being played out of position in Spain rather than a dip in talent. Luis is an upgrade. Courtois and Cech are the best pair of keepers in the league. They have depth at the creative positions. Chelsea has a formidable team. I don’t think Mourinho was ever going to be allowed the freedom to play the way he wanted to play with the type of players he wanted at Madrid. I think this team will be a vintage Mourinho side. I would be surprised if they do not win the league.

Crystal Palace

C

Lower end of the table

Notable Ins: McArthur, Fryers, Kelly, Campbell, Hangeland, Zaha

Notable Outs: Pulis

Palace saved themselves a little towards the end. McArthur and Zaha were nice gets. Kelly was a talented player at one time, but I don’t think he is going to be able to stay healthy and it remains to be seen if he is the same player after all the injuries. Campbell is decent. Losing Pulis is a massive blow though, there is no way around it. Warnock gets mocked a lot as a Championship level manager and I would like to be able to defend the guy but I’m not entirely sure that is unfair. He’s not as good as Pulis. I thought Palace was the least talented team in the PL last season. This edition is more talented, but they might go down anyway due to the dip in managerial quality.

Everton

A -

Top 7

Notable Ins: Lukaku, Besic, Eto’o, Barry, Atsu

Notable Outs: None

Martinez has stated that he has targeted winning the Europa League. I think that is the right strategy to get into the CL despite the season they had last year. They came close, and might have made it if not for the Lukaku injury, but the teams ahead of them all got stronger while Everton mainly treaded water. Which isn’t to say they did poorly to tread water. Lukaku is a massive get on a permanent deal for a club like Everton. Eto’o adds quality depth. In the past it always seemed like Everton was trying to eke enough offense out of guys like Cahill and mediocre forwards to win. With Lukaku, Eto’o, Mirallas, and others they have real quality in attack but I am concerned about the defense. It is aging a bit and Martinez, if I were to level one criticism at him as a manager, has not shown very many signs of being a good defensive coach. Overall Everton’s squad is in a good place and they are a dangerous team.

Hull City are a model of the strategy I think newly promoted sides should follow. They came up, used a funky formation, stole some points, and then didn’t take anything for granted and brought in some help in the winter to make sure they stayed up. In year two they have brought in a number of PL quality players. It can be risky if they go down, but it is a sport, I like the clubs that attempt to compete. Hernandez may not adjust, but he is a good prospect. The Snodgrass injury was unfortunate but he was a quality player. Livermore is a decent enough player. Diame is a decent player. Ince may add some punch. Ben Arfa is very talented if they can keep him away from the buffet and motivate him. Hopefully a new club will jump start his career. Ramirez has been dissapointing but may help. I like Hull City, I hope they do well. I liked what they did and it seems like they have had a real plan from the start. Guys like Huddlestone last season were perfect for a newly promoted side and now they have taken the next step.

Leicester City:

C

Candidates for the drop

Notable Ins: Ulloa, Simpson, Lawrence, Albrighton, Cambiasso

Notable outs: None

Leicester City are a decent team for a newly promoted club but I think that can be dangerous and lead to complacency. I would not be surprised to see them compete the first half of the season, but this type of roster construction seems to lead to a second half drop off as the first team gets worn down and the overall lack of quality starts to show. I do not think they did enough and may well go down. Ulloa was a pretty good player in the Championship, Albrighton washed out at Villa, and Cambiasso is ancient. I don’t think that is going to be enough.

I had been concerned that although the overall quality of the squad was much improved the drop in the first 11 would lead to dropping out of the top four. Those fears have been allayed somewhat by the Balotelli transfer and Man U’s bumbling in the transfer market. Lallana was expensive but he is a plug and play midfielder for Rodgers’ style. I’m not convinced on Lovren and the price was too high, but they had to bring in a center back and he has PL experience. Lambert was cheap and is a nice impact sub. Can is an excellent prospect and I was very happy with his purchase. He is a unit and I think he was bought with clubs like Chelsea specifically in mind as he continues to develop. Balotelli is very talented and allows Rodgers to keep the diamond as a threat. Liverpool are a different team in the diamond. There are not very many clubs that are going to be able to contend with a diamond fronted by Balotelli, Sturridge, and Sterling.Manquillo and Moreno are another reason I am optimistic despite the loss of Suarez. Despite some growing pains, the pair of them are a vast improvement over last year’s fullbacks. Moreno in particular allows Rodgers to play in the style he prefers. Markovic is an excellent prospect that I was surprised they were able to obtain, as is Origi although he won’t be available until next season. Rodgers can now shift back and forth between systems with subs and not have a drop off in quality, which is not something he had last year. The Henderson red card was the primary cause of dropping the title last season because they had no depth. This year the squad as a whole is deep everywhere, especially if they are able to complete the Valdes free as rumored. The club had a plan and executed it admirably. The only reason I didn’t give an A + was because they lost perhaps the third best player in the world. Liverpool had a lot go right last year, and I think they needed to improve to even stay in the top four, but I do not think they could have reasonably been expected to do better than they did this window. Good job Ayre.

Last season I thought it was odd how thin City left themselves at the back. It may well be that they were concerned about FFP though as Mangala and Fernando were not brought in until this window rather than in the winter. Mangala is a good player and fills a need. Fernando also fills a need as I thought the club was thin behind Yaya and Fernandinho last year. The one thing I did not like that may cost them is letting Negredo go without a replacement. I get why they did it, Negredo wanted out, but with the style they use I don’t think they have enough depth at striker especially given that Aguero and Jovetic are made of glass. It reminds me of some of the Yankees teams in the past that had deficiencies in odd areas with depth. The little stuff matters too and it may cost them.

What in the world is going on at Man U? I defended the Shaw signing assuming that Man U saw him as an elite prospect that was going to be one of the best left backs in the world for an extended period of time in his prime. He promptly showed up to camp fat and had a nutritionist following him around. He plays left back. Marcus Rojo has work permit issues because of legal troubles in Argentina. He plays left back. Blind is a decent player. Who plays left back. I know Rojo and Blind can be played elsewhere, but a strong case can be made that they won’t be playing in their best position. Which is not good. Falcao is awesome but is coming off an injury and has been added to a team that has Rooney, Mata, and RVP that operate in areas he plays. It reeks of a commercial signing rather than a signing for the field. The only reason this is not an F - is that Di Maria is a truly awesome player. Who they paid sticker price for if not more. What is the plan for center back? What is the plan for teams with a strong midfield? How do they plan on fielding Falcao, Rooney, and RVP? All at once in a three? Or by playing Rooney in the midfield? If so I’m going to start laughing now to beat the crowd. If that wasn’t the plan, why in the world did they bring in Falcao after breaking the bank for Mata? One or more of those dudes are going to have to be on the bench in favor of some water carrying types. Some water carrying types they neglected to purchase. Hummels is a loyal guy, and he may not have left regardless, but if Man U is throwing bags of money at people, why not start at positions you can actually use help at? A baffling window, one of the more baffling ones I have ever seen.

Newcastle

C +

Top half

Notable Ins: Cabella, de Jong, Riviere, Janmaat, Colback

Notable Outs: Ben Arfa, Debuchy, Yanga-Mbiwa, Ameobi

Typical window for Newcastle when they are actually buying players. A couple of smart buys but left it short. Cabella has the potential to be a very nice player. Ben Arfa may be addition by subtraction. He’s very talented but it is hard to know when he is going to be in shape and show up. They needed to bring in a better quality striker or two. I think there is enough quality there to be in the top 10 if they are actually trying this year, but the lack of talent up top will keep them from much more than that.

I liked that QPR went all out last time around even if it wasn’t perhaps the best strategy. I can’t fault ownership that actually tries to compete. It appears that they are being smarter about their buys this time around. They picked the bones of the relegated teams for some of their better players. Caulker, Fer, and Mutch are solid PL quality players. Mutch and Caulker in particular likely have the potential to increase in value whether QPR stay up or not. McCarthy is a good prospect. Isla is a nice player. Ferdinand is washed up. Kranjcar keeps ‘Arry’s dog rolling in biscuits. A very nice window, I think QPR stays up if they can cobble together some cohesion.

If they were going to blow up the club and sell it they should have gone all out instead of panicking and stopping three quarters of the way through. As it stands now they might get the worst of both worlds. They didn’t dump all of their assets and they may go down and may not be able to sell the club. They got good money for Lovren, Lallana, Shaw, and Chambers. But if they were going that route they may as well have sold Rodriguez, Schneiderlin, and Waynama. After they had already doused the club in gasoline and set it ablaze for the insurance money it was a little late to go out for guys like Forster and Long. I don’t like when clubs asset strip, but if they are going to do it they should at least have the decency not to pretend otherwise.

Stoke

D

Mid table

Notable Ins: Bojan, Assaidi, Diouf, Moses,

Notable Outs: Jerome, Kightly

I know they weren’t happy with all of the expenditures under Pulis, but at this rate they will be in the relegation battle sooner rather than later. They are still nasty enough with Begovic and the boys to be middle of the table, but if they are not careful the squad is going to deteriorate in a hurry. I don’t like the reliance on loan players. I think the club got a little full of itself. Just because the team went to a FA Cup final and had a Europa run doesn’t mean that they can’t return to being lower league fodder.

Sunderland

C

Lower end of the table

Notable Ins: Rodwell, Buckley, Van Aanholt, Alvarez, Gomez

Notable Outs: Colback

Sunderland tried, but as it turns out there are not very many players that want to play for them in what may be a relegation fight. Borini decided he would rather spend a few months playing for the reserve team rather than continue to make Cup runs as a starter with Sunderland. I’m not sure it was wise to let Colback go only to spend a lot of money on Rodwell. Rodwell may not be good anymore. He was a promising prospect at one time but it remains to be seen if he can shake off the rust. They are going to be fairly toothless. I think they stay up, but only barely.

Given their resources, maybe the best run team in the league. Siggurdson gives them some pop. Fernandez is a nice signing. Gomis is a player a team like Newcastle could really have used. They got rid of some troublemakers in the clubhouse. Monk looks like he might be a good manager. Swansea are a smart team that has started to earn some respect around Europe. They did themselves credit in the Europa league and may do better in the PL this time around without the added strain of Europe. One of my favorite teams in the league, not least because it continues to amaze me that a team like Swansea can pick up players that had a key role for clubs like Lyon and Napoli. The PL is a monster that is going to continue to grow.

Spurs

B -

Top 7

Notable Ins: Davies, Fazio, Stambouli, Vorm, Dier, Yedlin

Notable Outs: Siggurdson, Sandro, Livermore, Dawson, Holtby

Spurs were close to an excellent window. Schniederlin would have been perfect for them but Southampton got cold feet. I haven’t seen him play but I’m assuming Stambouli is the poor man’s Schneiderlin. Fazio will help but I think fullback is a problem. Pochettino is a big upgrade on AVB and Sherwood and he will help a lot, but I don’t think they quite have the horses for his press yet. What Spurs need more than anything at this point is stability. Let Pochettino manage, let the team gel this year, and then go out and get him the high energy types he needs this January or next summer. I think this should be a bridge year. If Levy freaks out again and cans Pochettino than everything said about him is true. This team just needs time, they have some really nice pieces if they can hold it together.

Some roster churn but I don’t think much was accomplished. The team is probably going to be fairly toothless. There is not much to like. West Brom is a well run club and they have said that they are not afraid to bounce between the PL and the Championship, but that’s a risky game to play. It wouldn’t take a whole lot for them to go down this season. Dark horse for the drop.

Assuming Song can still play that was a very nice pickup for West Ham. I’m not sure Valencia was a good idea, but he may turn out ok. To me the window was saved by Song. If Carroll can ever stay healthy with Song and a couple of others they are a decent team. If Carroll can’t come back and Song can’t shake off the rust they could potentially be in trouble. West Ham are a team I have a hard time getting a read on because so much of what they could be is tied up with Carroll. For all his faults he adds a lot to them. If he is able to come back and play a lot, they will be decent. If not, and Song bombs, they could be in trouble.

Is there not one single place to catch EPL game wrap-ups with video highlights? Even a week after the fact? An 'EPL Week in review' thing with actual video? There's a teeny bit on NBC but hardly comprehensive.

Check out the NBCSports app. They have highlights (and full replays) of all the games from the weekend. I can't find MotD but they do have some kind of "Premier League Recap" that looks like it runs about 15 minutes.

Jose beat me to it. I'm not sure about purely online, but there are at least 3 shows on NBC for the tube. Match of the Day tends to spend most of the time on a couple of matches. Goalzone usually follows the last match and is a highlights show. My personal favorite is the PL review show which tends to air at odd times, often in the early morning. It has full highlights for every match and also sometimes features commentators that did not work the NBC feed.

My kids also enjoy the opening of that particular show, the one with all of the various club logos. They look forward to seeing what the new ones will look like each season.

Some loose transfer ends have been tied up:
Rojo has got his work permit and is cleared to play.

John Guidetti has been allowed to go to Celtic on loan despite late paper work. (Which is good news for the Swedish national team, because Sweden have very few good young forwards, and not many good young players at all).

To go back to 1005, I would think that many (and perhaps all) of the World Cup sponsorship contracts have force majeure clauses that could be triggered by a EU boycott. The European television contracts (which are massively lucrative) almost certainly do.

I do feel bad for Ukraine, in all seriousness. They are very properly screwed. My wife and I had some Czech friends visit last week and they are very nervous about how aggressive the Russians have become. I think their status in NATO will protect them but it's easy to forget how scarred people are in countries that suffered the Soviet occupation. Anyway, sorry for the digression. Soccer in wartime gets weird.

Not going to happen, even the dimmest corrupt federation chief in Africa knows where the source of the money spigot is.

Sure, but FIFA have always been very aggressive about kicking out countries that allow outside political interference. Does FIFA protect the money or do they protect the extra-legal status which allows the them to embezzle the money? I'm fairly pessimistic about Ukraine, though. I think it's going to be partitioned off so quickly that the issue will be long on the backburner before the issue comes to a head.

Sure, but FIFA have always been very aggressive about kicking out countries that allow outside political interference.

But the football federations in EU will howl in protest, so they will be on FIFA's side and thus FIFA has a great excuse to not do anything. This is more like the Bosman case, UEFA was mad at that (Silly chief Lennart Johansson declared that the they were right and the European Court of Justice wrong), but what could they do?

Meanwhile, my single least-favorite soccer/football weekend of the year has again rolled around. Such a buzzkill so early into club seasons. Oh well, at least this year it's not also Labor Day Weekend.

Cameron Carter-Vickers, according to the weirdos who go to these games, was a force of nature against Everton's u18 side today. He could be pushing for a place on the senior team fringe by next season. By all accounts he's too good to be playing u18 sides anymore so I suspect he'll start seeing time with the reserve team. Suddenly there seem to be options in central defense.